Author: snukes

Olympic, Night 1: Sneaky Frontcountry Camping

January 12, 2022

“Where will we sleep?” Dustin asked.

“There are two front-country campgrounds, and if they’re both full we can disperse in the National Forest.” You know we’re getting desperate when front-country camping and dispersed camping (pitching your tent along the side of a road in an approved part of a National Forest) are the best options. Our general philosophy is that if we’re going to go through the discomfort of sleeping in a tent, we really ought to be getting something (a remote, lovely view and serious solitude, usually) out of it. Sleeping in a tent in close proximity to dozens of neighbors? Meh.

… More Olympic, Night 1: Sneaky Frontcountry Camping

Hiking Mount Baldy, Black Hills

November 28, 2021

Even the trail signs want to make sure you know this won’t just be a stroll in the park – though parts of it really are a lovely stroll. The trail itself isn’t heavily trafficked, so it can be a little unclear in places. Keep your eyes out for the next trail marker – there’s almost always another one in view as soon as you pass the last one.

Until you get to this rock. … More Hiking Mount Baldy, Black Hills

That time I got jellyfished on my first snorkeling trip

November 16, 2021

“So, uh, I’ve never actually snorkeled before,” I said.

This was a lie. I had snorkeled before, though it had been decades. Literally. The last time I had snorkeled had been in my grandfather’s pool in California. I must have been about seven. I’d yanked on the flimsy yellow mask and tube and plunged right in, convinced this miraculous new apparatus was about to turn me into a mermaid who could breath underwater forever. Instead, I’d gotten a lung full of pool water.

… More That time I got jellyfished on my first snorkeling trip

For the Love of Glaciers

November 5, 2021

This, then, is what the love of glaciers means:

Yesterday, you hiked Mt. St. Helens. You climbed up 4,500 feet over the course of four miles, clambering over sharp boulders and loose scree. You then turned around and picked your way back down 4,500 feet of the same.

You woke up this morning with every muscle in your lower body wailing, suggesting maybe you should be a little kinder today.

You arrived at the Mt. Rainier National Park wilderness office, because backcountry camping was your only plan for finding a place to sleep tonight, and asked if there were any sites left that did not require a strenuous or lengthy hike.

You listened as the ranger ran through a list of unappealing options – seven miles is too many, 2,000 feet elevation gain is too many, 2,000 feet elevation lost is WAY too many, three miles might be okay except half of it parallels the highway?

And then you listen as the ranger kindly offers to check for available group sites, since those could be given away to a non-group at such short notice.

You listen as she says, “the Glacier Basin site is open, oh, but that’s four miles in and nearly 2,000 up-“

And you hardly let her finish the sentence before you say “WE’LL TAKE THAT ONE.”

… More For the Love of Glaciers

Crater Lake

October 28, 2021

“I’m afraid we’re going to have to splurge on a room at the Crater Lake Lodge,” I said.

“Are you proposing we buy a $300 hotel room so that you don’t miss the chance to buy a $100 dinner?” Dustin asked.

“NO,” I replied not-at-all too quickly. “No, but really, look: we’re coming from the north entrance of Redwoods. It’s a 4-hour drive, and if we manage to get a tour at Oregon Caves along the way, the earliest we can hope to arrive at Crater Lake is mid-afternoon. That means we’ll be in the park for less than 24 hours. If we camp, we’ll spend our entire visit hiking in and out of our campsite, and none of the campsites have views into the crater.” … More Crater Lake

A photo-journal of a visit to Redwood State & National Parks

September 20, 2021

I don’t have a particular narrative to go with our photos of our time in Redwood National & State Parks. My jaw dropped open the moment I saw my first redwood, and I really didn’t manage to get my mouth closed until we left. (Good thing banana slugs can’t fly.) I was just in a perpetual state of awe the whole time. That doesn’t make a very interesting story, though. … More A photo-journal of a visit to Redwood State & National Parks

Craters of the Moon: extreme hot, extreme cold, extreme solitude, and extreme awesome

August 28, 2021

“There’s not a lot of shade out there. You’re welcome to stay with us tonight if you don’t want to fight the heat.”

A sparkle of doubt crept into my exuberant plan. The hike to our camp site would cover about four miles. We’d have to wear our big packs. It would be hot. Relentlessly hot.

But… but… I wanted to be one of less than a hundred people! Also, there were volcanos back there I wanted to collect.

“We don’t have to go right away,” Dustin said. “Why don’t we go do some of the frontcountry trails, see some of the caves, then we can start out for the wilderness when it starts to cool off?”

This plan sounded eminently sensible, so I sent a note to his highness confirming my enthusiasm for hiking in three-digit temperatures, and we set off for the loop road. … More Craters of the Moon: extreme hot, extreme cold, extreme solitude, and extreme awesome

Climbing Mount Saint Helens

August 19, 2021

At some point about halfway through, I demanded of Dustin: “Whose terrible idea was this, anyway?”

“Yours,” he said. He didn’t even hesitate.

“Oh,” I huffed, because huffing was the only way I could get air in and out at the moment. “Right.”

“But I supported the idea,” he added. Supportively.

“It was a great idea,” I gritted out through clenched teeth as I hauled myself up over another sharp rock.

… More Climbing Mount Saint Helens